Sex Equity in Lincoln County Schools: A Report of a Needs Assessment. National Demonstration of Educational Equity for Women: Design Phase.

Faddis, Bonnie J.; Hutchison, Barbara

This report describes a needs assessment study conducted prior to the design of a plan for a national demonstration of educational sex equity in the Lincoln County, Oregon, public schools. Two of the study's major purposes were to identify district wide attitudes and experiences pertaining to sex equity, and to provide a context for identifying strategies and selecting materials for use during the plan's implementation. Students, teachers, community representatives, administrators, support staff, and recent graduates were surveyed to assess attitudes toward existing sex equity programs, counseling services and extracurricular activities, as well as awareness of sex equity legislation. Also explored were student employment experiences, knowledge of the work force, peer interactions, student staff interactions, and teacher inservice training experiences. Results indicated general agreement as to the need for: (1) more information about sex equity laws and issues; (2) more specific information about non-sexist teaching strategies; (3) more career information for the students; and (4) more encouragement for students to take nontraditional elective courses. In addition to discussion and extensive data of the results of the study, this report includes a summary of district wide implications of the findings, survey questions indexed by topic and audience, and copies of the questionnaires used in the needs assessment. (Author/JCD)